


Until we are all just stories

by Tchell1



Series: To be unmade [1]
Category: Black Sails
Genre: Capitain Flint gets mentioned a lot, Flint is loved by Silver and Thomas, Gen, Silver and Thomas talk., Silver is trying, Thomas is a Disney Prince
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:20:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22802452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tchell1/pseuds/Tchell1
Summary: Before delivering Flint to the plantation, Silver wants to see for himself what waits for his captain. He was not prepared for Thomas Hamilton.
Relationships: Thomas Hamilton & John Silver
Series: To be unmade [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1641499
Comments: 2
Kudos: 34





	Until we are all just stories

**Author's Note:**

> I really want to turn this into a Silver/Flint/Hamilton series. I'm not sure I will be able to, but I do have plans.

Silver looked at the big metal gate that gave access to Mister Oglethorpe’s plantation. He looked and he looked and for a moment, he thought about turning back. He thought about never entering the place and never confirming what Tom Morgan had reported to him. He clutched his crutch, looked down at his completely unremarkable beige clothing, took two deep breaths, stared ahead and entered the place.

He was directed to the inside of the house, where a man waited for him with less respect than people normally showed to Silver these days. The man saw him arriving, rolled his eyes, turned his back to Silver and started walking, clearly expecting Silver to follow him, which Silver did.

“I fail to understand the interest your pirate king has on this person.” The man said.

Silver moved along, slower than his guide, allowing the lack of his leg to be very explicit. His eyes were downcast, and his figure was passive and humble.

“I just follow orders, sir. I’m not even a pirate.” Silver said in a soft voice.

The man stopped and turned back to Silver, who stopped abruptly; the crutch almost slipped free, making Silver lose his balance. The man’s arm came up to hold Silver in place. Silver saw the man looking Silver up and down, evaluating all his figure and weakness. Silver did not hide from him.

The man snorted, securing Silver crutch back under Silver’s arm.

“I suppose you really are not pirate material. What with only half a leg and all the noise you make to move around. You almost look like a fragile bird.” The man said laughing not in a kind way.

Silver had to control his snarl; his fury almost great enough to act on the words. Instead, he made himself smaller and insignificant.

“Long John Silver has a message to your prisoner. I am just the delivery service.” Silver whispered. “Please, sir, I don’t want to be here as well. I just want my family safe” he completed guessing the man would infer whatever he wanted from the little bit of information Silver had given him. With any luck, the man would get into the conclusion Long John Silver was keeping the imaginary family captive.

The man stared at Silver, taking what was said into consideration. The moment the man’s eyes opened in sympathetic understanding; Silver new he had him. The man nodded.

“Follow me, boy. We have a carriage waiting for you.”

This was the tricky part. Silver, on his letter to the plantation’s owner, had demanded a carriage with a separating curtain between its occupants. Mister Oglethorpe had denied at first, but no one really wanted to cross the Pirate King. Also, Silver had no intention at looking anyone in the eye during this endeavor.

The man took Silver to the carriage and helped him inside. Again, the urge to lash and bite had to be controlled. Silver was not an invalid. Silver did not need anyone. Again, Silver controlled himself. He sat inside, closed the curtain between the two seats and waited for his companion to arrive.

He blinked a few times, felling his eyes sting with unshed tears. He looked up, stopping them from falling, trying to control his beating heart. He took one deep breath and thought of Flint, at the island, studying the next step in the war. He thought of Madi, looking over Flint’s notes, hand on the back of Flint’s chair, eyes bright, smart and so eager to fight.

He sobbed, putting a hand over his mouth to keep the scream he wanted to let out inside. Silver had no illusions of forgiveness in his future. If everything went as he planned, Flint and Madi would be alive and most certainly would never look at him again. This was why he was here, at this god forsaken place, waiting for a ghost from the past to arrive, shatter Sliver’s heart and finally set the plan into motion.

A very tiny and very ugly part of him hoped that no one would show up on the other side of the carriage; that everything he had learned was a lie.

Someone had just sat inside the cabin. Silver heard the person huff indignantly.

“This isn’t the usual treatment, that’s for sure.” The voice was clear and very annoyed.

Silver inhaled suddenly. It was real.

“Hum.” Said the voice a bit apprehensively, no doubt having heard Silver. “What’s going on?” the voice continued. Silver could almost hear the nobility in it.

Silver closed his eyes and leaned his head backwards.

“Tell me your name.” Silver ordered.

The voice huffed again.

“I beg your pardon? Wasn’t it you who had asked for me specifically?”

Silver knocked his head two times on the carriage wall, dried a tear track that had appeared on his face and tried again:

“Please tell me your name.”

“Jesus Christ, my name is Thomas Hamilton. Now, what do you want?” the voice said.

Silver opened his eyes again, his throat swallowed absolutely nothing, his hand went back to his mouth. Thomas Hamilton was really alive, and he had just broken Silver’s heart in two.

“Hello?” Thomas asked from the other side “Is this curtain really necessary? I am already exiled and with no way of running. Why are you hiding from a prisoner?”

Silver’s hand hastily moved to the curtain, stopping Thomas from opening it.

“I have no interest in looking at a pariah from society.” Silver snarked with as much disgust he could fake, finishing the destruction of the little of his own heart that had left.

He felt Thomas hand move way from the curtain, a very soft “Oh… right” could be heard. Silver had to fight the impulse to immediately ask forgiveness.

“Just- just listen, will you?” Silver said “In- in a few weeks from now, someone will arrive at the plantation. Someone- someone I- my master is very interested in keeping alive and well.”

Thomas snorted.

“I am no one’s nanny. You all might have stripped me of my title and my land, but you people have no right to treat us as slaves. No man should be a slave to somebody else.”

Silver’s mouth opened in surprise. Thomas Hamilton had just given Silver a lecture. _The nerve of Thomas!_

Is this what was like living with Thomas Hamilton?

“I don’t think- What the fuck, just listen to me.” Silver stuttered. “Please.”

There was silence from the other side. And then:

“Speak whatever you want to speak and leave me be.”

“I know about James McGrawl.”

Thomas laughed bitterly.

“Well, fucking congratulations. I see Oglethorpe has been spreading tales again. Here to see the pervert nobleman? I have news for you, sir. I am not your performance monkey.”

Silver could hear the anger in the voice. The frustration, the pride and the certainty Thomas had of never being wrong about loving James McGraw. God, what would have been like, to have two formidable people as Miranda and Thomas lavish their love upon you? To have James Flint in all its glory deliberately bared, vulnerable and satiated?

_You don’t get to have Flint in any form. You will betray him and Madi and should suffer the consequences for that._ His mind readily informed him. Silver was not a fan of lying to one’s self.

“I didn’t come to see you, nobleman! I have a fucking curtain separating us, have I not??” Silver replied, and for once his voice was honest. He did not want to see Thomas; to look in the eye of the man Flint loved and compare himself with him. Silver already knew when compared with Thomas, he was found lacking. Thomas was this amazing radical nobleman, full of plans and hopes for a better future. Silver was the bitter opportunist scoundrel that had the luck to cross Flint’s orbit. “I’m here asking for your help.”

“I’m not interested”

“Jesus Christ, you are a brat.”

“You all come into this place eager to see what we are subjected to. I have no interest in partaking into these activities.”

“I don’t want to see anything about this place. I would rather this place was burned to hell. In fact, I expected it to.”

There was silence from the other side. Then:

“… _what?_ ” Thomas voice became louder “What the hell are you talking about??”

Silver huffed.

“In a few weeks from now James McGrawl will arrive here.” Silver finally concluded.

“James is dead.” Thomas replied immediately.

“He is not. Believe me, he truly is not.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Silver wanted to scream. Thomas was as stubborn as Flint. The man was very difficult to have a conversation with. Silver took one deep breath and whispered:

“My truest love. Know no shame” he was met again with complete silence from the other side. “Meditation, from Marcus Aurelius.”

The silence continued.

“Are you there?” Silver asked.

“How do you know about this?” came Thomas’ voice. It was clearly restrained, as if he was speaking through his teeth.

“Because I know about James McGrawl.” Silver repeated. “And in a few weeks, he will be here at this forsaken place.”

“Oh, god. James is _alive_?” Thomas’ voice grew a few octaves. “They didn’t kill him?” and he laughed incredulously.

For the first time, Silver realized it might not have been only Miranda and Flint that were lied to; that most probably, to subdue a man with a strong will as Thomas’ they probably had to feed him untruths.

If Silver’s heart was still whole, it would have broken all over again. Both Flint and Thomas thought the other was dead. They could have been happy.

“He is alive. I wouldn’t lie about this. It’s too important.” Silver answered in a whisper, trying to put as much honesty in his words as he could “Long John Silver would not lie about this at all.”

“What does the pirate king have to do with James?”

Silver opened his mouth and could not give any satisfactory reply. At leat not one that would make any sense to Thomas Hamilton.

“I cannot tell you. It just is.”

There was another pause. Silver imagined Thomas was probably digesting everything that he was being told.

“Is… is James ill?” he asked in a small voice.

“God, no. He is fine. He is just…” Silver smiled sadly “he is angry. He is so angry and so _heartbroken_.” He felt new tears falling from his eyes. “He has been trying to deal with his grief for ten years.”

Silver heard Thomas sob. He probably was not the only one pathetically crying inside the carriage.

“And he will be here in a few weeks, you say? Alive and well? You promise you are not lying? Can I trust the pirate king?”

Silver laughed bitterly.

“The pirate king? No, him, you cannot trust. But I give you my word. James McGrawl will be delivered to you alive and well.”

“Who are you? What power do you have over the pirate king?” Thomas asked softly. Silver felt Thomas hand moving on the other side of the curtain, probably wanting to push it.

Silver closed his eyes and hid his face on his hands.

“I am no one; from nowhere.” He answered truthfully. “I’m just here to make sure you know James will arrive. I don’t… I don’t want him to be alone.”

“Hmm” Thomas replied. “Thank you for telling me this. I… I appreciate your concern. You must be a very good friend to James.”

“I never said I was his friend”

Thomas huffed.

“Oh, please. You are telling me you know about James’ book and what is written inside and you are not his friend? You talk about him as if he was family; as if you love him.”

_Get out. Get out now, Silver_. His mind screamed at him Thomas will figure out all your secrets. _Get out!_

“I don’t-”

“Spare me.” Thomas stopped him.

“I was just curious.” Silver offered instead “I wanted to see if you were as he described.”

Thomas had the gall to laugh.

“And how did I go? Did I pass?”

_You are amazing._ Silver’s treacherous mind answered _. I was so not prepared to like you._

“Yeah.” Silver laughed a little “Yeah, you passed with honors.”

Thomas softly pushed his hand against the curtain. Silver could see all his fingers and for a brief second he entertained the idea of touching him.

“Thank you.” Thomas whispered “Thank you for bringing me this news. Rest assured I will take care of him.”

Silver shook his head, staring at the hand outlined in the curtain, mesmerized by it.

“I… I care about him. And he loves you so much.”

“I wonder if he knows you love his as well.”

Jesus Christ, Thomas Hamilton was a wizard. He was a menace and Silver apparently had no power of obfuscation when it came to him.

“It is not important.”

The hand disappeared from the curtain, releasing Silver from its spell.

“I… see.” Silver heard Thomas moving on the other side “Is that all?”

Silver closed his eyes.

“Are they- are they treating you well? I mean- I – Are they- Are they hurting you?” Silver asked unsure how to phrase what he wanted and unsure he actually wanted the answer.

Thomas sighed.

“I’m not being tortured, if this is what you are asking. I’m being fed and they leave me alone.”

_Thank god,_ Silver thought _. Small mercies._

“That’s- that’s good to know.” He answered as truthfully as he could. Almost as an afterthought, Silver added: “Oh, right. He will instigate a revolution here. Of that I am most certain.”

“He will what?” Came Thomas surprised reply.

Silver grinned to himself. Flint would not stay at the plantation. He would curse Silver and never again want to see him again, but he was still very predictable do Silver: he would take a look at the plantation and would spirit Thomas away from there.

“Don’t- don’t be too hard on him, okay? Flin- I men McGrawl has done some truly terrible things. He was angry and he was in pain. And he will not accept you living in this place not even a minute longer than necessary. So- So just be prepared for a revolution.”

Again, silence answered him back. Silver wondered if this bit of information was what would drive Thomas away.

“James will instigate a riot? Are you certain?”

Silver laughed delighted.

“I am. I have absolutely no doubt about it.”

“Good.” That was all Thomas said about the subject.

And the conversation came to an end. Silver found himself bizarrely wanting to keep talking with Thomas; to tell him about Flint and about how amazing Flint as pirate was; was captivating he could be and how desperately Silver wanted Flint to be safe and happy.

_Leave the carriage. You already did what you came here to Do. Thomas is safe and sane and will receive Flint. Your time is already over._ Silver thought to himself.

“Well, I suppose that’s where I leave you, Thomas Hamilton.” He said already opening the carriage door. “Do take care of him, or the pirate king will kno-“

“At least tell me your name.” Thomas interrupted him. “Tell me to whom I owe my happiness”

“No one. I’m just the delivery boy.” Silver replied shortly and hopped out of the carriage. He turned to the man guarding the carriage “Make sure he only leaves after I left. The pirate king do not want any loose ropes. My face is not to be seen.”

“Oh, for god’s sake” Thomas said from inside the cabin. Silver had to fight the urge to laugh. He could understand why Flint was so enamored with the nobleman. Thomas effortlessly pulled people in.

Silver was again accompanied to the entrance of the plantation, where he was left right exactly outside the enormous metal gate.

“Let’s hope your pirate king is satisfied this time.”

_This place will burn to the fucking ground in no time._

“I think he will be.” Silver replied instead of saying what his mind was happily providing.

The man nodded and closed the gate. Silver was left outside, imagining what would have been like, to be so loves as Thomas and Flint loved each other. He would never know. Love, he knew, was not for him.


End file.
